1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate, in general, to enterprise architecture and particularly to enabling mobile wireless devices to interact and synchronize with backend enterprise servers.
2. Relevant Background
Increasingly, business data processing systems, entertainment systems, and personal communications systems are implemented by computers across networks that are interconnected by the Internet. The Internet is a collection of heterogeneous computers and networks coupled together by a web of interconnections using standardized communications protocols. The Internet is characterized by its vast reach as a result of its wide and increasing availability and easy access protocols. As a result the Internet has rapidly emerged as the preferred system for distributing and exchanging data. Data exchanges support applications including electronic commerce (e-commerce), broadcast and multicast messaging, videoconferencing, gaming, e-mail and the like. Similarly, wireless devices have transformed the means by which individuals interact with the Internet. Cellular telephones and Personal Digital Assistants (“PDAs”) that can both facilitate voice and data communication have become commonplace.
The intersection between wireless technology and the Internet is one of explosive growth. A user familiar and comfortable with the services and conveniences that the Internet can provide in a typically networked environment often demands the same features to be available on his or her PDA or cellular telephone. Just as with the infancy of the Internet, services provided on such wireless devices, such as personal information management, are generally proprietary. Recall that when the Internet made its debut providers such as CompuServe and Prodigy both offered rudimentary Internet-like services but only within their respective networks. The service was limited and proprietary to those within the networks. As a result an individual using CompuServe could not send any Internet content to an individual using Prodigy or vice-versa. It was the adoption of Hypertext Terminal Protocol (“HTTP”) and Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”) that resolved this issue.
Currently wireless devices can access enterprise e-mail but do so in a proprietary nature. For example a Research In Motion (“RIM”) Blackberry™ assesses a user's enterprise e-mail using their own, RIM's, proprietary technology. Similarly a device executing applications using the Palm Operating System may access a user's enterprise e-mail using Palm proprietary technology. For a company to provide to its users (employees) the ability to use multiple types of mobile devices and/or platforms (i.e. a Blackberry or Palm) the company must independently support each technology's enterprise interface. Thus for practical purposes most companies choose one type of device using one type of proprietary technology.
Recognizing the usefulness of mobile devices, enterprises increasingly desire their mobile devices to have the capability to access more than just e-mail. Enterprises wish to mobilize multiple applications on multiple devices without the expense of separate solutions for each type of device. Just as with the evolution of e-mail, enterprises are seeking an open, device agnostic synchronization platform.